This week is Vulture Week (19-26 Nov). I'm not 100% sure who started the initiative, but it prompted me to write something on this species that is so critical for the ecological systems. Most vulture species are endangered, not just in S.A, but worldwide.

The Cinderellas of the Bushveld

Imagine no cleaning machine for the bushNo Municipal refuse pick-up once a weekAll dead animals lie – just where they diedWhat a ghastly sight!Not even to think about the pungent stenchStrong enough to knock you off a bench

Anthrax, Rabies and various other diseasesSpread quicker than wildfireThe Situation so dire

But wait!There is this really great group of birdsSlowly getting pushed off the grid,That cleans up and stop this messMost are bald so that blood don’t clot their feathersAnd they smell a carcass from over yonderQuickly they clean up the bushFlesh devoured in no time, bones crushedIt should make you to ponderThe important role of vulturesThey’re all endangered, some more than others

If we don’t act nowThe scenario above might be our future

You might get me out of the bush, but you won't get the bush out of me, it's deep in my heart

The man in the moonsat in the sky so brightand the moon so full.That which causes it to shinethen moves into the shadowand attempts to steal the gloryonly for no one to winbecause the man in the moonkick the sun out the picture soon

You might get me out of the bush, but you won't get the bush out of me, it's deep in my heart

WFG, it's wonderful that you are so poetically creative. I enjoy your imagery and how you put things together. The short rain-on-baked-earth poem relates the effect on life tersely, and I had a good laugh about the African Xmas. The moon poem has interesting ideas, but I'm still trying to work out what the whole thing means to me.

Overall, fantastic job. (Which may just inspire me to get back to my own poetry, which was quite prolific a few years ago.)